Roll Over for the Great Obama Circus
Source: The bill for all the concerts, lavish balls and celebrations is around $150million.The grandeur of the presidential 'coronation' has senior Republicans suggesting Obama has misread the country's mood - and some Democrats are feeling uneasy too.
A huge party in Washington on MOnday night kicked off Barack Obama's inauguration festivities - expected to cost more than those of any previous U.S. president.
The bill for all the concerts, lavish balls and celebrations to mark the swearing-in of America's first black president is estimated to come to $150million.
The grandeur of the presidential 'coronation' has senior Republicans suggesting the incoming Commander in-Chief has misread the country's mood - and some Democrats are feeling uneasy too.
The scale of the partying and the showbiz razzmatazz leaves Mr Obama open to criticism that he may have lost the common touch.
One senior Republican analyst said: 'No one is begrudging the president a celebration to mark this watershed event, but people struggling to keep their homes are going to be looking at this and wondering what is going on.'
The President-elect's inaugural committee has raised about £30million towards the cost of staging of events such as last night's concert.
It received an additional £3million for the exclusive TV rights to screen the event and another concert tonight, which will feature teen stars Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.
But most of the rest of the costs - including security and transportation - are being covered by the U.S. taxpayer. presidents parties
While the American capital came alive with excitement on the eve of the inauguration, the rest of the U.S. remains weighed down under a crushing recession and two difficult wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr Obama has had to walk a delicate line between celebrity studded parties and more statesmanlike appearances.
Yesterday, he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, just outside the capital.
He then went to the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, where he and his family were greeted with an ovation.
Last night, his wife Michelle and daughters Malia, ten, and Sasha, seven, joined him at the free concert attended by up to half a million people.
The crowd erupted in cheers when the Obamas arrived.
The concert began with Bruce Springsteen, dressed in black, singing 'The Rising,' with the help of a gospel choir, - a song best known as a call to action following the 2001 terror attacks.
Denzel Washington was the first celebrity to speak, telling the crowd, 'We are all in this together.'
Actor Tom Hanks read a sombre tribute to Abraham Lincoln and Jamie Foxx brought the crowd - and the Obamas - to their feet by repeatedly urging those from Chicago to make some noise.
As Garth Brooks sang ' American Pie,' Obama could be seen mouthing the words.
Gay Bishop Gene Robinson was to read the invocation at the event, which was taking place at the Lincoln Memorial - the site of Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech.
Mr Obama plans to lead the commemoration today for the U.S. national holiday in honour of the black reverend, who was assassinated in 1968.
Monday night's crowds were dwarfed by an unprecedented two million for the Inauguration Day events on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building - more than double the number for any previous president taking the oath.
Mr Obama's inauguration committee said it did not believe Americans would consider the celebrations excessive. 'That is probably not the way the country is going to be looking at it,' said spokesman Linda Douglass.
'It is not a celebration of an election. It is a celebration of our common values.'
Adding to the price tag is the cost of a massive security operation. More than 40,000 police, soldiers and Secret Service staff have the task of keeping the new president safe.
While officials say they haven't received any credible threats, they aren't leaving anything to chance.
Organisers even have an army brigade ready to respond to a chemical and biological attack.